Ethics chief: Conway likely broke rules
Ethics office calls for investigation into Trump aide’s remarks
The head of the Office of Government Ethics (Walter) Shaub said the facts seem “to establish a clear violation of the prohibition against misuse of position.”
White House aide Kellyanne Conway appears to have violated government ethics rules when she touted Ivanka Trump’s fashion line during a recent television appearance, according to the government’s top ethics official.
Walter Shaub, the head of the Office of Government Ethics, called on the White House to launch an investigation of Conway’s conduct and “consider taking disciplinary action against her,” in a letter released Tuesday by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
The panel’s top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, and its Republican chairman, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, last week wrote to Shaub, urging him to review Conway’s actions. The Shaub letter to White House Deputy Counsel Stefan Passantino indicates that officials in the ethics office had begun looking into Conway’s comments before receiving the request from Cummings and Chaffetz.
At issue: Whether Conway’s remarks, urging viewers of Fox & Friends to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff ” last week violated rules that bar officials from misusing their public positions for private profit.
Shaub said the facts seem “to establish a clear violation of the prohibition against misuse of position” and asked Passantino to investigate and share the results of the findings by Feb. 28.
Conway’s comments, made from the White House briefing room, followed President Trump’s decision to excoriate Nordstrom on Twitter for dropping his daughter’s clothing line. Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, and Conway both defended Trump’s action.
Spicer told reporters that Conway had been “counseled” after her comment. Last week, Conway pushed back on the criticism, saying she had Trump’s support.
Trump’s administration has faced a thicket of ethics questions. He has not released his tax returns, citing an ongoing IRS audit. And he refused to give up his ownership stake in his real-estate and licensing empire, but has transferred management responsibilities to his adult sons and a longtime Trump Organization executive.